aohs foundations of anatomy and physiology i lesson 9 the...

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AOHS Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology I

Lesson 9

The Brain

Student Resources

Resource Description

Student Resource 9.1 Diagrams: Anatomy of the Brain

Student Resource 9.2 Reading: Anatomy of the Brain

Student Resource 9.3 Guidelines: Cornell Note Taking

Student Resource 9.4 Reading: Brain Development, Chemistry, and Conditions

Student Resource 9.5 Glossary: The Brain (separate Word file)

Student Resource 9.6 Lab: Sheep Brain Dissection

Student Resource 9.7 Guide: Drug Effects Poster

AOHS Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology I Lesson 9 The Brain


Student Resource 9.1

Diagrams: Anatomy of the Brain

Student Name:______________________________________________________ Date:___________

Directions: Color and label the parts of the brain, and fill in the charts describing the characteristics or functions of the parts listed in the left-hand column.

1. Glial Cells, Gray Matter, and White Matter

Cell or tissue Characteristics

Glial cells

Gray matter

White matter

2. Regions of the Brain



Region Functions it governs

Cerebrum

Corpus callosum

Cerebellum

Brain stem

Diencephalon Thalamus

Hypothalamus

3. Lobes and Features of Cerebral Cortex



Lobe or feature Functions it governs

Frontal lobe

Motor cortex

Parietal lobe

Sensory cortex

Temporal lobe

Occipital lobe



4. Internal Structures in the Brain




Reading: Anatomy of the Brain



Your brain may be the most demanding organ in your body: one out of every five calories you consume

goes to feed it. It needs so much fuel because of all the activity it is directing, every moment of every day.

For example, right now it is directing your ability to take in this information, recognize letters and words,

grasp new ideas, write notes, color in diagrams, remember the names of classmates, keep your heart and

lungs going, decide which sounds around you to notice and which to filter out…. The list of things your

brain is busy doing right now is nearly endless. Most of the tasks take place in different, specific parts of

the brain, so lots of different areas in your brain are active at once.

Human brains aren’t the largest in the world—bigger mammals have bigger brains—but human brains

have the most neurons packed into them for their size. And it’s neuron density, not size, that plays a role

in intelligence. Your brain’s 86 billion neurons meet at over 200 trillion synapses, providing processing

power that leaves even the world’s fastest supercomputers in the dust.



Glial cells are the caretakers of neurons. They make up 90% of the cells in your brain. Glial cells clean up

waste materials, provide immune protection, clear away used neurotransmitter molecules, and promote

the repair of neurons and the growth of new neurons. So most of your brain is dedicated to protecting and

providing for the vitally important neurons that do the processing that keeps you alive.

As you may remember, the neurons in the brain are interneurons. Inter is from Latin and means

“between,” and the brain’s interneurons create connections between each other or between other

neurons. In addition to glial cells and interneurons, your brain contains a vast, complex network of blood

vessels. But it does not have any pain receptors.

Scientists used to believe that once we became adults, we couldn’t generate new neurons. But

researchers now know that our brains are changing all the time. Neurons make new connections as we

learn new things, and patients with brain injuries can sometimes regenerate neurons or their brains can

create new pathways to get around the damaged areas. Both meditation and exercise have been found to

encourage the growth of new neurons in adults.



The darker colored tissue that’s found on the outside of the brain (and in a few structures inside the brain)

is called gray matter. It gets its brownish-gray color from the nuclei of the neurons and the many blood

vessels in it. It’s fed by lots and lots of blood vessels, because it is almost always active, requiring a

constant supply of oxygen and nutrients. Gray matter contains the dendrites and cell bodies of neurons.

The axons of those neurons pass through the nearby white matter. The dendrites and cell bodies in gray

matter lack myelin, but the axons are myelinated, which helps lend white matter its lighter color. White

matter ferries signals back and forth to and from the gray matter. Our spinal cords have gray matter on

the inside, surrounded by white matter on the outside.



There are four main regions to the brain, each with its own function. The cerebrum is the largest. Inferior

to the cerebrum are the brain stem and the cerebellum. The cerebrum surrounds another brain region

called the diencephalon.



The brain stem, which is located at the base of the brain and whose upper part is wrapped in the

cerebrum, controls important bodily functions that keep you alive. You can consciously control your

breathing and swallowing if you want to, but thanks to your brain stem, you’re relieved of having to think

about them all the time. The spinal cord is a continuation of the brain stem, and many reflex arcs that

involve responses to sights, sounds, pain, or heat integrate information through the brain stem.

The brain stem also contributes to figuring out which sensory signals you need to pay attention to and

which you can ignore. For instance, you’re not aware of the feeling of your clothes on you, or of the chair

under you, or of the humming of air vents in the room around you. Your brain stem has decided that right

now these are less important than taking in images and hearing words about the brain’s anatomy and

physiology.



The cerebellum sits inside and beneath the cerebrum. It’s sort of like an automatic fine-tuner device: while

your cerebrum is giving the message “move your legs, swing your arms, and walk,” the cerebellum is

sorting out where your body parts are moving and how your balance is shifting, and sending fine-tuning

signals that make your movements flow. The cerebellum is also responsible for “maintenance

movements” such as maintaining posture and keeping your balance while you’re standing still. Like the

cerebrum, the cerebellum has a right and left hemisphere, and it has gray matter outside and white matter

inside.



In the middle of the brain, above the brain stem and surrounded by the cerebrum, is the diencephalon.

This part of the brain is responsible for regulation and emotions. The hypothalamus, which sits above and

in front of (superior and anterior to) the brain stem, controls many functions of the autonomic nervous

system. When you feel hungry, thirsty, cold, hot, or like you need a nap, that’s your hypothalamus talking.

It also regulates water balance, metabolism, and sex drive, and it is important in regulating emotions.

The thalamus, which is just superior and posterior to the hypothalamus, sorts and routes all the sensory

information that reaches it, sending messages to the cerebrum. When you feel the fur of a dog, watch a

friend dance, or taste the saltiness of the cheese on your pizza, your eyes, ears, and taste buds take in

the sensations and send them to the thalamus, where they get sorted and shuttled to the appropriate part

of the brain. The only sensations that don’t go through the thalamus are scents: the receptors in your

nose are connected directly to your cerebrum.



Your cerebrum is responsible for all of your conscious thought, voluntary movement, and much of your

sensory processing. It’s the largest part of your brain, bigger than all the other parts combined, and

covers the rest of your brain, sort of like a mushroom cap. The cerebrum is the part that makes you you.

The outside of the cerebrum, called the cerebral cortex, is made of gray matter. Many different areas in

the cerebrum are in action when you speak, read, jump for joy, and do just about everything else that

you’re aware of doing. Inside the cerebrum is white matter that connects it to other parts of the brain.



Anatomically, the two hemispheres of your cerebrum are pretty much the same; each contains the same

parts, like mirror images of each other. Each hemisphere controls skeletal muscle function and most

sensory information on the opposite side of the body. When you move your right hand, you’re using the

left side of your brain. One exception to this is parts of the brain that control speech and language: in

most people, these reside solely on the left side. Many lefties, though, have language areas on both sides

or solely on the right.

The two sides of the cerebrum are connected by a sort of bridge made of white matter called the corpus

callosum. While the two sides can act independently from each other, a lot of information goes back and

forth. People used to believe that certain functions were carried out solely by one brain hemisphere or

another, and that a person might be right-brained or left-brained. Scientists now know that while there are

some differences between the hemispheres, they are much more subtle than they used to think.



Each hemisphere of the brain contains the same four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.

Certain functions such as controlling movement, storing memory, and experiencing the different senses

are associated with one particular lobe of the brain. For very complex functions, like being able to use

language, many different parts of your brain work together, with different and sometimes shared roles.

For example, you use parts of your parietal lobe when you’re choosing what words to say, and you’re

using part of your frontal lobe when you gesture and make expressions that go with your words. You use

part of your temporal lobe when you’re comprehending the sounds of your friend’s response to you as

words, and you use your frontal lobe again to figure out what your friend’s whole sentence means.

Sometimes a very specific area in one specific lobe of the brain controls a function. For example, the

sensory cortex in your parietal lobe processes touch sensations. In other cases, many parts of the brain

work together to process information.



The frontal lobe is at the front, or anterior, of the cerebrum. It includes the frontal cortex. The frontal

cortex is the part of your brain most associated with speech, new ideas, reasoning, planning, attention,

focus, and solving problems. When you’re studying, telling a friend excitedly about a date, trying to sort

out which of two choices is better for you, you’re making use of your frontal cortex.

At the posterior end of the frontal cortex is a band called the motor cortex. This stretch of neurons

controls most of your voluntary muscle movements. When you’re taking notes, dancing, or waving to a

friend in the hallway, your motor cortex is doing the work of telling your muscles to move.



The parietal lobe integrates some different kinds of sensory information. For example, it processes

information taken in by your eyes and coordinates that with information about where your body parts are

so that you can reach out and grab something that you see. The parietal lobe also contains an area called

the sensory cortex. When you feel a friend tap you on the shoulder or feel the pain and heat from a burn

on your skin, that’s your sensory cortex receiving signals. The sensory cortex is located just posterior to

the motor cortex.



Your temporal lobe is located on the sides of your brain, near your ears. It enables you to interpret

sounds and language because it is where auditory information is processed. When you’re studying,

saying the parts of the brain out loud while looking at a diagram of its anatomy, you’re using your

temporal lobe to incorporate what you’re learning through sight and hearing. Memory also resides in the

temporal lobe, and people who incur damage to this part of the brain may have problems recalling things

experienced in the recent or distant past. Some temporal neurons are directly connected to smell

receptors in your nose.



Humans rely heavily on their vision, so it’s no surprise that we have a relatively big portion of our brains

dedicated to processing visual information. The occipital lobe not only takes in what the eyes see but also

can combine images to give us a sense of how near or far away things are and whether they are moving

toward or away from us. This part of our brain is also where we interpret color.

Ocularis is Latin for “eye,” and ocular refers to anything connected to the eye or vision. For example,

binoculars let you see far away. This information can help you remember that the occipital lobe has to do

with vision.



When you do a dissection of the brain, you will cut it sagittally, dividing it into its two hemispheres. By

doing this, you’ll reveal structures like the corpus callosum and diencephalon that are otherwise covered

up by the cerebrum. You’ll also be able to see the gray and white matter of the cerebrum and the

cerebellum. You will notice many other structures that we haven’t covered here, and you will start to get a

sense of how the brain does its job of conducting the orchestra that is your thoughts, movements,

experiences, and functions that keep you alive.




Guidelines: Cornell Note Taking

Directions: Cornell Notes is an effective strategy that has been in use since the 1950s. Use this method to write down essential information as you go through the reading in the next resource. You can use this strategy for many types of information, such as lectures, videos, presentations, and readings.

Divide a page in your notebook into two columns. Title the left-hand column Key Terms, and the right-

hand column Main Points (see the example below). Next, follow these steps:

1. During the reading (or presentation): In the Main Points column, write short sentences that summarize

the main points. Leave an empty row between each summary sentence.

2. Write key terms and phrases in the left-hand column, across from the relevant sentence.

3. After class, use the bottom of the page to summarize the notes you took.

4. In the blank row underneath each summary sentence, write a question about the information covered

in the sentence in the row above. You will use these questions to help you study for the quiz or test.

Complete this step after class also, while the information is fresh.

5. Another way to use these notes to study for the test is to cover the Main Points column and remember

as much as you can about the terms you wrote down in the Key Terms column. Then switch, and cover

the Key Terms column. Finally, summarize the notes to yourself and check your memory against the

summary you wrote at the bottom of the page.

6. If you study your notes every week for at least 10 minutes, you will have much of the material

memorized by the time of the test.

Key Terms Main Points

Write key words that relate to the sentence.

Record what you read in short sentences, summarizing the main points. Leave an empty row between sentences.

Beneath each summary sentence, write a question about the sentence. Use these questions to help you study for a quiz or test.

At the bottom of the page, summarize all of the notes on the page. You may need to use another page to do this.




Reading: Brain Development, Chemistry, and Conditions

Instructions: Use the Cornell note-taking strategy as you complete this reading.

Every day of your life, your brain is changing. Right now you’re creating new connections between

neurons as you take in new ideas by reading this. When you memorize anatomy terms, you’re

strengthening some of those connections so your brain will recall the words more easily. Because you are

a teenager, your brain is undergoing a burst of creating new neurons. At the same time, it is losing

neurons as your brain chooses which pathways to keep and which to let wither away. When you don’t get

enough sleep or when you take certain drugs, you affect the chemistry—and therefore the functioning—in

your brain. But you can encourage the most beneficial growth and pruning process of your brain neurons

by engaging in healthy practices like eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising, and studying.

Brain Development

What your brain is like at any given time is a combination of what’s often referred to as nature vs.

nurture. This is the idea that your genes determine some of your characteristics and factors in your

environment determine others. These factors include your interactions with other people, your diet, and

many other choices you make. Scientists still don’t have an exact picture of what’s nature and what’s

nurture about our brains, but they do know that these two aspects go hand in hand and affect each other

in complex ways. Nature vs. nurture is important to keep in mind when we’re talking about almost

anything relating to the brain, our personalities, and behavior.

Many major changes our brains undergo are part of a developmental arc that all of us as we go through

life. Scientists who study the brain have identified five major stages of brain development after birth that

are a natural part of our growth and aging:

The infant’s brain: When you’re a baby, your brain is the most pliable that it will ever be. The

baby’s brain is like a sponge, soaking up every new experience and incorporating it by creating ties between neurons and strengthening the functioning of the neurons that are there. When a baby is born, the neurons that control basic survival functions are fully intact, but it’s during the first year of life that myelin is added to neurons for vision, hearing, and other functions. And all the baby’s new experiences will be making trillions of connections between the neurons in its brain.

The child’s brain: From toddlerhood up to when adolescence starts, a child’s brain is busy

making many more synapses than it can use. As a child is exposed to repeated experiences—good or bad—those experiences leave a lasting impression on the brain. In response, the brain strengthens some connections and lets others fizzle out or wither, a process call pruning. Pruning

is evident in learning language: a baby’s brain is open to hearing the sounds of any language that exists, but as that baby grows into a toddler and a child, its brain reinforces the pathways for the language it hears and learns and becomes more closed to adopting new sounds. The motor cortex is also involved, and that’s why it’s harder not only to learn words of a new language but to pronounce them once you reach a certain age. During childhood, the process of myelination also continues in full force. Myelination accounts for most of the gain in brain size and weight.

The adolescent brain: Just as a teenager’s body is going through lots of changes, so is his or her

brain. By the time a child reaches the teen years, the motor and sensory parts of the brain are well developed, but an area called the prefrontal cortex, which handles reasoning, judgment, insight, and conscience, is not. Ironically, teens are usually in their finest physical shape while their brains are still catching up with them. Adolescence brings new hormones and an enormous burst of new synapses to the prefrontal cortex: the teen brain then goes through another phase of the pruning process. Connections between neurons are either strengthened or lost. What is strengthened



depends largely on the environment and the choices a teen makes. Connections that are made often, by repeated activities, emotions, and stressors, will remain while others are lost. Thus, the teen years are an important time in shaping what the brain—and the teen—will be like in the future.

The adult brain: The prefrontal cortex continues to develop into a person’s 20s. By the time

someone reaches adulthood, the brain stops increasing in size, and the biological factors that drove big changes in the brain in adolescence quiets down. What defines the brain during adulthood is plasticity, or the idea that our brains adapt to new challenges by making new

connections between neurons. During adulthood, this brain development is driven by outside activities and stimuli rather than the biological cues the brain received during childhood. Learning new skills, forming new relationships, raising a family, traveling, and exploring can all expand an adult brain’s capacity. In adulthood, the mind and body connection is very clear. Exercising and learning new physical skills keeps the brain active and balances brain chemistry, helping to fend off conditions like depression.

Aging brain: Many people equate old age with the loss of brain activity, but recent research has shown that most people continue to grow new neurons well into their 70s or even 80s—provided that they are making use of their brains and encouraging that growth. Researchers who study aging suggest that older people continue to participate in new activities and relationships. Most brain growth during old age occurs in the cerebral cortex. Older people can lose neurons in other parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, which handles memories. Neuroscientists are also starting to believe that other changes occur in the brains of older people that contribute to increased wisdom and patience. On the other hand, older brains are more susceptible to debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Brain Diseases and Conditions

Diseases and conditions in the brain can be caused by a variety of factors. Some result from the process

of aging. Others are driven by genetic factors or brain chemistry, and still others have unknown causes.

Some conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome occur because of choices made by a mother while her

child was developing in the womb.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease of the brain that affects between 5% and 15% of people

over 65. It has been frustratingly difficult for researchers to pinpoint the exact causes of Alzheimer’s. They

do know that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients show structures that become toxic to them, and that these

patients also have a shortage of the neurotransmitter ACh (acetylcholine). Alzheimer’s can be a

devastating disease: patients first begin to lose their memories and attention span, and over time their

dispositions can change so that they aren’t the people their families once knew them to be. Patients are

often in this condition for a long time before they die. There is no known treatment for Alzheimer’s, but

drugs that enhance the levels of ACh can be helpful.

Parkinson’s disease is another troubling degenerative disease with unknown causes. Parkinson’s is

characterized by tremors, which are continuous, small shaking motions. The tremors are most noticeable

in a patient’s hands and arms. Other symptoms include a shuffling sort of walk and stiff muscles, which

can lead to weakness and fatigue. Parkinson’s usually strikes people in their 50s or 60s, and it occurs

when a person begins to lose a particular kind of neuron in his or her brain that is associated with the

neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine plays an important role in voluntary muscle movements and also

in the reward and pleasure centers in the brain. A drug called L-dopa, which is converted to dopamine in

the brain, can help some patients with Parkinson’s. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, although as

with Alzheimer’s, researchers are trying a variety of approaches.

Huntington’s disease affects the same kind of neurons that Parkinson’s does, but it has a known

genetic cause. If one of your parents carries the gene for Huntington’s, there is a 50% chance that you

will develop the disease. The gene responsible for Huntington’s was one of the first disease genes

identified, and the genetic test for Huntington’s has been available for many years. The gene causes

patients to lose neurons progressively over time. The first symptoms of Huntington’s may be jerky,



uncontrolled movements. Or they may be more subtle changes in the brain and behavior. These include

losing focus or the ability to reign in impulses, or difficulty planning and prioritizing. While there is no cure

for Huntington’s, there are several drugs that can help with the effects. Drugs for Huntington’s also affect

dopamine, but in different ways, and can sometimes have side effects that include mental illness.

Dopamine and other neurotransmitters also play a role in addiction and depression. While these two

conditions are different, they sometimes go hand in hand, and both are affected by neurotransmitters in

the brain. Scientists have only a vague understanding of each of these conditions. Addiction is when a

person repeatedly engages in an activity that might be fun at first but eventually loses the ability to make

a choice about whether to engage in it. Addicted people do the activity compulsively, repeatedly, often to

the point that it has a terrible impact on their lives and the lives of the people who care about them. A

person can be addicted to something they consume, like drugs or alcohol, or they can be addicted to a

behavior, such as gambling. Addiction involves the reward centers of the brain, which are controlled by

dopamine. Often, it’s the reward—the zing of dopamine—that keeps an addicted person captive, which is

why a person can change the particular thing they are addicted to without actually solving the addiction

problem.

In depression, some scientists believe that low levels of dopamine might bring about the lack of

motivation that characterizes some types of depression. Depression is a very complicated condition,

though, and involves many factors. The neurotransmitter most commonly associated with depression is

serotonin. Serotonin can affect the levels of other neurotransmitters in the brain. Many modern

antidepressant medications are designed to make sure serotonin is used correctly by the brain.

While many brain-related conditions are due to factors beyond the conscious control of a patient, fetal

alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a preventable condition. FAS affects the babies of some mothers who drink

when they’re pregnant. While many women do drink when they’re expecting and have normal babies,

there is no way to predict whether alcohol will have an effect on a developing baby or not. Alcohol has a

much greater impact on a fetus than on an adult, and FAS has been found to affect the corpus callosum,

the cerebellum, and parts of the brain involved with spatial memory and other thought processes. Babies

with FAS may have delayed development, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, facial abnormalities,

or other problems for their whole lives.

You Can Affect Your Own Brain Chemistry

Many aspects of your lifestyle and other choices you make can have an effect on your brain chemistry

and function. These choices have a big effect on how you feel and how well you can study, talk things

through with other people, and keep your emotional cool in challenging situations.

Stress, sleep, diet, and the brain

Many of the pressures of our daily lives can take a toll on how our brains work if we let these pressures

get out of control. If you’re like most teenagers, you don’t get enough sleep, and that lack of shut-eye can

affect not just how well you think in school but can leave you feeling distressed and affect what you eat,

too. A lack of sleep, poor diet, and stress are often bundled together. Each can affect your brain

chemistry. Eating junk food that is high in fat or sugar can actually slow your brain’s synapses and impair

your ability to learn and remember things. And researchers have found that if teens don’t get enough

sleep, the parts of their brains that control appetite made them hungrier and therefore more likely to chow

down on those junk foods. A tired brain doesn’t process some kinds of information as well as a rested

brain does, particularly when it comes to communication. If you’re tired, you’re less capable of taking in

new information or expressing your ideas, because sleep deprivation can affect the parts of the brain

involved in language especially.

Stress in general effects your brain in many ways. Remember, our sympathetic nervous system is

programmed to respond to stressful threats from outside and can get us ramped up to fight or flee. These

are useful effects when they’re needed, but often we have these same stress responses to situations that

go on continuously or repeatedly. This means that our brains and bodies are exposed to all those stress

hormones for a long time. Ever notice that when you’re stressed out you can’t think as clearly? If you



experience stress for longer periods of time, your adrenal gland releases the hormone cortisol. This

hormone helps you maintain blood sugar levels during the time of your stress but also causes a decrease

in immunity (have you ever noticed that you get sick when you are stressed) and can interfere with your

ability to form memories.

Under ordinary circumstances, there’s a homeostatic feedback loop that controls your cortisol levels.

When there’s enough of the hormone circulating in your blood, your hypothalamus, which is responsible

for regulating many hormones and controlling many basic body functions, tells the adrenal glands to halt

cortisol production. But when you’re continually stressed and therefore repeatedly producing cortisol, the

hypothalamus is influenced by other brain regions to keep your level of cortisol high. Over time this will

affect parts of your brain where memory is stored. In fact, continued stress can even shrink these parts of

the brain as well as other parts that effect your emotions and appetite. That’s why stress can also make

you want to eat, and it can be a factor in obesity.

What can you do to improve your brain chemistry?

Sometimes you might feel so stressed out and have so much going on that there’s nothing you can do to

make it different. But, in fact, there are some pretty simple things you can do that can positively affect

your brain chemistry and help you think more clearly, sleep soundly, and study better.

From what you’ve just read, you could surmise that some obvious steps to take are to get more sleep, eat

better, and lower your stress. But it can be very hard to follow through on these changes. Don’t despair!

There’s something you can do that will improve all of those things by improving your brain in many kinds

of ways: exercise.

Lots of research has shown that even small amounts of endurance exercise have a huge impact on your

brain. For one thing, exercise stimulates the creation of new neurons, especially in the hippocampus,

which means better memory, learning, and regulation of stress. Endurance exercise also helps balance

serotonin and other neurotransmitters involved in depression, and increases substances in the brain that

strengthen dendrites, axons, and the synapses they make. Maintaining balance with those

neurotransmitters can also help curb cravings for junk foods. Keeping active helps both your brain and

body shut down when it’s time to go to sleep.

If you’re not used to exercising, start small, and make choices that will fit into your life easily. Do some

jumping jacks or run in place before heading out to school in the morning. Walking briskly has as many

benefits as more rigorous exercise and has the advantage of being a practical way to get around. When

heading to school, walk past the nearest bus stop and stroll on to the next one, or walk to the store when

you need groceries. You can also see if your school’s gym is open after hours. At home you can work up

a sweat by vigorously scrubbing the kitchen floor or the bathtub. Jog up and down the stairs a few times,

until you’re out of breath. Take a break from homework by running in place some more. Then do some

push-ups and crunches.

A half hour or so of relatively intense exercise gives you a bonus shot of the brain’s natural feel-good

drug, endorphins, chemicals that block pain sensation in the brain and give you a feeling of euphoria.

Endorphins are related to opiate drugs like heroin and morphine and are responsible for “runner’s high,”

the feeling of exhilaration after exercising.

Your brain also benefits when you sit still—very still. Meditation, especially a type called mindfulness

meditation, aims to keep your brain focused on the present. It can affect parts of the brain that process

emotions and keep your responses to upsetting situations under control, thus lowering stress. It also

appears that meditation can actually create more gray matter in the frontal and temporal lobes of your

brain. Best of all, recent studies have shown that mindfulness meditation can give you a longer attention

span and a greater ability to retain and recall chunks of information, boosting studying skills and grades.

So, next time you’re stressed about school, go for a walk, get something healthy to eat, and then sit

quietly for a bit. You may find that it’s easier than you think to get your brain chemistry in a better groove.




Lab: Sheep Brain Dissection

Student Name: Date:

Directions: Using Student Resource 9.1, Diagrams: Anatomy of the Brain, as a reference, label the parts of the sheep brain as described below. If you are using sewing pins with different colored heads instead of dissecting pins, you will tell your teacher the name of each structure. Otherwise, label each dissecting pin. If you are using printed photographs instead of the actual dissection, use a black marker in places where a white dissecting pin is called for.

1. Using your tweezers and other dissecting tools, carefully remove the membranes from the outside of

the brain. In these layers you will see many blood vessels. Inspect the brain from different angles.

a) Describe what you see when you look at the superior surface of the brain.

b) When you run your finger along the cerebrum, what does it feel like? How does it feel different from the

cerebellum?

2. Identify with colored pins or write the names of the following structures on a pin with the color of flag

that goes with the name, and then identify the structures in your brain by sticking the pins in the

appropriate places. When you’ve placed your pins, have your teacher check your work and initial the box.

a) Pink pins (4) = lobes of the cerebrum: frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

b) Red pin = cerebellum

c) Yellow pin = brain stem

d) White pin = spinal cord

3. Make a sagittal cut through the corpus callosum, separating the brain into right and left sides. Set one

half of the brain aside.

Describe where you can see the difference between gray and white matter, and how they look different.



4. Identify with colored pins or write the names of the following structures on a pin with the color of flag

that goes with the name, and then identify the structures in your brain by sticking the pins in the

appropriate places. When you’ve placed your pins, have your teacher check your work and initial the box.

a) White pin = corpus callosum

b) Red pin = cerebellum

c) Pink pin = thalamus

d) Yellow pin = hypothalamus

e) Blue (3) = frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes




Guide: Drug Effects Poster

Student Name: Date:

Directions: Use this step-by-step guide to create your poster about a drug’s effects on the brain. Fill in each section as directed. Begin by writing down basic information below.

The drug our poster will be about:

Members of my group:

The audience for our poster:

1. Decide how to allocate tasks for creating your poster.

Look at the different roles that creating an informational poster requires. Which one(s) are best for you to

take on? Which ones would be better for a different group member to complete? Discuss these questions

in your group and make some decisions. Then write down the name of the person who will take on each

role.

Role Responsibilities Who Is Responsible

Researcher Conduct online research, starting with the websites suggested in Step 2 of this guide. If time allows, look up more information in medical journals and books in the library. To ensure accuracy, books should be published within the past four years.

Every member of the group conducts research and cites sources properly.

Writer Write the text for the poster based on all of the research your group has conducted.

Text must appeal to your audience.

Work with graphic designer to ensure that text and images work well together.

Image researcher Find or create images to use in the poster. Use copyright-free images. Start with this site:

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/



Role Responsibilities Who Is Responsible

Graphic designer Decide how to arrange text and images for maximum effect. Decide on style of text and feel of poster with input from the group.

Copyeditor/proofreader Make sure the text is free of grammatical and spelling errors. Ensure that text accompanying images is placed logically.

Check research citations for proper format and attach to the back of the poster.

2. Begin your research.

Find the drug that your group has been assigned to research from the list below. Next to each drug is a

short list of websites. You can expand your research beyond these websites, but they are a good starting

point. Use the table below this list to decide which member of the group will research your drug on each

website.

Posters need to cover the following information:

Description of the drug

Information on why people use this drug

How the drug is taken (orally, injection, inhaled, etc.)

Statistics about who uses it. Include information about legal use (if there is one) as well as illegal use.

Explanation of how abusing this drug affects the brain. Include information on which parts of the brain are affected and how the drug changes the chemistry and/or function of the brain.

Name of drug Suggested Research Starting Points

General sources to start with

www.webmd.com

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/

http://www.drugabuse.gov/

http://www.drugfree.org/

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drug_info.asp

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Call and ask for sources of information about the effects of the drug you are investigating: 800-662-HELP (4357).

http://www.webmd.com/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/

http://www.drugabuse.gov/

http://www.drugfree.org/

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drug_info.asp




Marijuana http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-

director/2013/03/marijuanas-lasting-effects-brain

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/health-teen-pot

http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v%3Aproject=medlineplus&query=marijuana&x=0&y=0

Alcohol http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110615161756.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/alcoholism4.htm

Nicotine http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/tobacco-addiction-nicotine

http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/nicotine

http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2011/20110503-nicotine.html

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/educators/curricula-and-lesson-plans/mind-over-matter/tobacco-addiction/brains-response-nicotine

Cocaine http://teens.drugabuse.gov/educators/curricula-and-lesson-plans/mind-over-

matter/cocaine/brains-response-cocaine

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/cocaine-use-and-its-effects


http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine

Ecstasy http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/ecstasy-mdma

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110407/long-term-ecstasy-use-may-damage-the-brain

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/mdma_faq05.htm

K2/Spice/fake marijuana

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/spice

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/spice-synthetic-marijuana

Heroin http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heroin/brain/

(Note: Heroin is a drug that has been studied and understood for a long time, so this resource is acceptable even though it is more than four years old.)

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hero.html

Xanax (alprazolam)

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/central-nervous-system-cns-depressants

http://www.prescriptiondrugabuse.org/Effects-of-Xanax-Abuse.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/expert.q.a/03/23/xanax.long.term.use.raison/index.html

Methampheta-mine

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/educators/curricula-and-lesson-plans/mind-over-matter/methamphetamine

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/methamphetamine

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/body/#1

http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-director/2013/03/marijuanas-lasting-effects-brain

http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page/messages-director/2013/03/marijuanas-lasting-effects-brain

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/health-teen-pot



http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm


http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/alcoholism4.htm

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/tobacco-addiction-nicotine

http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/nicotine

http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2011/20110503-nicotine.html



http://teens.drugabuse.gov/educators/curricula-and-lesson-plans/mind-over-matter/cocaine/brains-response-cocaine

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/educators/curricula-and-lesson-plans/mind-over-matter/cocaine/brains-response-cocaine

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/cocaine-use-and-its-effects


http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/ecstasy-mdma



http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/ecstasy/f/mdma_faq05.htm

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/spice

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/spice-synthetic-marijuana

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heroin/brain/

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hero.html

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/central-nervous-system-cns-depressants

http://www.prescriptiondrugabuse.org/Effects-of-Xanax-Abuse.htm





http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/methamphetamine

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/body/#1




Oxycontin (oxycodone)

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/opioids-and-pain-reliever-facts

http://www.livestrong.com/article/182676-long-term-effects-of-oxycontin-abuse/

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/oxycodone.asp

Bath salts (synthetic cathinones)

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/bath-salts-synthetic-cathinones

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/bath-salts

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/using-bath-salts-playing-russian-roulette-with-your-brain-expert-says

Ritalin http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/prescription-stimulants

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/ritalin.pdf

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/03/08/ritalin-may-work-by-enhancing-brains-dopamine/11937.html

http://www.news.wisc.edu/15342

Vicodin (hydrocodone)

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/narcotic-pain-medications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQEsPIS4oY4

http://www.csulb.edu/~cwallis/483/opiates_on_the_brain.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/226208-the-effects-of-hydrocodone-pills/

Whippets (nitrous oxide)


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314740/Why-Prince-Harry-taking-hippy-crack-cause-brain-damage-death.html

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/opioids-and-pain-reliever-facts

http://www.livestrong.com/article/182676-long-term-effects-of-oxycontin-abuse/

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/oxycodone.asp

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/bath-salts-synthetic-cathinones

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/bath-salts



http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/prescription-stimulants

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/ritalin.pdf



http://www.news.wisc.edu/15342

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/narcotic-pain-medications

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQEsPIS4oY4

http://www.csulb.edu/~cwallis/483/opiates_on_the_brain.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/226208-the-effects-of-hydrocodone-pills/






Divide up research among group members.

List each team member and the sources they are assigned to research. Each researcher is responsible

for getting information to the writer in a form that is readable and understandable.

Name Sources to Research

Remember to cite your sources properly.

The copyeditor gathers all of the sources that you use for your poster into one list. Attach this complete

list to the back of your poster.

Remember these rules:

Use information from universities, medical centers, government agencies, major newspapers and magazines, and other reputable sources.

Check your facts by finding them in at least two reputable sources.

Do not use Wikipedia, Ask.com, Yahoo Answers, or other crowd-sourced information.

Do not use websites that advertise drugs for sale or advocate illegal drug use.

Don’t use sources more than 10 years old.

Express information in your own words.

Proper citation style for online sources

Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Work.” Name of Website, www.activelink.com (accessed [date]).

“Title of Work If there’s No Author Credited.” Name of Website, www.otheractivelink.com (accessed

[date]).

3. Gather your materials and create a rough draft.

Once you’ve got graphics and text based on the group’s research, create a rough draft of your poster.

Don’t glue anything down at this point. The graphic designer takes the lead and shows the group various

ways the information could be laid out. Discuss the options with your group and come to agreement.

4. Obtain feedback.

Just as professionals do, you will obtain constructive feedback from classmates. Use it to improve your

final draft. Remember to check your draft against the rubric and keep your audience in mind.

5. Create the final draft.

After you have made revisions based on feedback, create your final draft. Glue everything down.

Remember to attach your citations to the back of your poster.

http://www.otheractivelink.com/

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